The original 'Game of Thrones' outline included an insane love triangle involving Arya Stark

George R.R. Martin's plan for the "A Song of Ice and Fire" series
has changed drastically since he
first wrote an outline in 1993. Aside from some gruesome
prospects (like Sansa having a baby with Joffrey), one original
storyline in particular is extremely off-putting: Jon Snow and
Arya Stark falling in love.

Turns out, Martin had quite the dramatic romance in store for Jon
and Arya when he was first plotting out the Stark family
dynamics. Jon was always destined to be Lord Commander, but
Martin wanted Arya to travel to the Wall along with her mother
Catelyn and younger brother, Bran. After arriving at Castle
Black, Arya would have discovered that she had feelings for Jon
that extended beyond a sibling love.

Here's the excerpt from Martin's original outline [emphasis
ours]:

Jon Snow, the bastard, will remain in the far north. He
will mature into a ranger of great daring, and ultimately will
succeed his uncle as the commander of the Night's Watch. When
Winterfell burns, Catelyn Stark will be forced to flee north with
her son Bran and her daughter Arya. Wounded by Lannister riders,
they will seek refuge at the Wall, but the men of the Night's
Watch give up their families when they take the black, and Jon
and Benjen will not be able to help, to Jon's anguish. It will
lead to a bitter estrangement between Jon and Bran. Arya
will be more forgiving ... until she realizes, with terror, that
she has fallen in love with Jon, who is not only her half-brother
but a man of the Night's Watch, sworn to celibacy. Their passion
will continue to torment Jon and Arya throughout the trilogy,
until the secret of Jon's true parentage is finally revealed in
the last book.

Helen
Sloan/HBO

Thanks to the television adaptation, we now have
confirmation that Jon
Snow's parents are Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark, making
Jon Snow the cousin of Arya and the other Stark children. But
even as cousins, a romance between Arya and Jon seems completely
out of character at this point.

Martin clearly pivoted when it came to their relationship,
and mapped out Jon and Arya as bonded outcasts of the Stark clan
instead of tormented lovers. And Jon Snow wasn't the only main
character Martin planned to connect romantically with
Arya.

Her other suitor was going to be none other than Tyrion
Lannister.

"Exiled, Tyrion will change sides, making common cause with
the surviving Starks to bring his brother down, and falling
helplessly in love with Arya Stark while he's at it," Martin's
original outline explained. "His passion is, alas,
unreciprocated, but no less intense for that, and it will lead to
a deadly rivalry between Tyrion and Jon Snow."

Helen Sloan/HBO/AP

Thankfully Martin opted to have a different Stark daughter enter
a relationship with Tyrion, but the circumstances of his marriage
to Sansa were completely different.

All in all, we're glad the Stark incest was left off
the table. Arya's lone wolf character is interesting enough
without including a love interest, and Jon Snow's brief love
affair with Ygritte was heartbreaking itself without dipping into
the same gene pool.